Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

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Lesson Icebreaker Question

Can you think of a time when you had a big question about something important? Who did you ask for help?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will hear about a man named John the Baptist who had questions for Jesus. We will learn how Jesus answered with kindness and truth. We will also talk about how people can have different ideas about who Jesus is.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Accept — To say yes to something or agree to it.
2. Ate — Put food in the mouth, chewed, and swallowed.
3. Baptize — To dip a person in water to show they follow God.
4. Bend — To move something so it is no longer straight.
5. Blade Of Grass — A thin, green piece of grass.
6. Blessed — Made happy by God.
7. Blind — A person who cannot see.
8. Call — To ask someone to come.
9. Came — To arrive at a place.
10. Clean — Free from dirt or sickness.
11. Compare — To see how two things are the same or different.
12. Cry — To make tears from the eyes when sad.
13. Crowd — A large group of people.
14. Dance — To move the body to music.
15. Dead — A person who is no longer alive.
16. Demon — A bad, invisible spirit.
17. Demand — Something that must be done.
18. Desert — A hot, dry, sandy place with little water.
19. Dressed Up — Wearing nice or fancy clothes.
20. Drink — To swallow a liquid like water or juice.
21. Dreaded Skin Disease — A very bad sickness on the skin.
22. Evil Spirit — A bad, invisible being that hurts people.
23. Expect — To believe something will happen.
24. Fancy Clothes — Very nice or expensive clothes.
25. Fast — To not eat for a time, often for religious reasons.
26. Found — Discovered something or someone.
27. Glutton — A person who eats too much food.
28. Go Back — To return to a place you were before.
29. Good News — The message about Jesus saving people.
30. Greater — More important or better than others.
31. Group — A number of people or things together.
32. Happy — Feeling good or glad.
33. Heal — To make someone well again.
34. Heard — To listen to a sound.
35. Indeed — Truly or really.
36. John The Baptist — A man who told people to turn from sin and baptized them.
37. Kingdom Of God — The place where God rules over people who love and follow him.
38. Lame — A person who cannot walk.
39. Least — The smallest or not important.
40. Lord — A name for God or Jesus.
41. Luxury — A very rich and comfortable way of living.
42. Marketplace — A place where people buy and sell things.
43. Messenger — A person who brings a message.
44. Outcast — A person not accepted by others.
45. Obey — To do what you are told.
46. Open — To make something ready for others to come.
47. Palace — A big and fancy home for a king or rich person.
48. Pharisees — A religious group in Bible times who followed many rules.
49. Play Music — To make sounds with instruments or singing.
50. Poor — People who do not have much money or things.
51. Preach — To tell people about God’s word.
52. Prophet — A person who gives messages from God.
53. Purpose — The reason something is done.
54. Raised To Life — To bring a dead person back to life.
55. Reject — To say no or refuse something.
56. Righteous — Doing what is right and good in God’s eyes.
57. Scripture — God’s holy words written in the Bible.
58. See — To look at something with your eyes.
59. Sent — To have told someone to go.
60. Sickness — When a person’s body is not healthy.
61. Sit — To rest on a chair or the ground.
62. Sight — The ability to see.
63. Someone Else — Another person, not the first one.
64. Son Of Man — A name Jesus used for himself.
65. Speak — To say words out loud.
66. Suffer — To feel pain or be in trouble.
67. Tax Collector — A person who collected money from people to give to the government.
68. Tell — To give information to someone.
69. Teachers Of The Law — People who taught God’s rules in the Bible.
70. True — Something real and right.
71. Walk — To move by taking steps.
72. Way — A road or path to follow.
73. Went — Moved to a place.
74. Wedding — A special event when two people get married.
75. Wine — A drink made from grapes.
76. Wisdom — Knowing what is right and good.

Summary of the Passage

This passage begins with John the Baptist, a man who helped people get ready for Jesus. John was in prison, and he had a question. He sent two of his followers to ask Jesus if he was the one God had promised, or if they should wait for someone else.

When John’s messengers came to Jesus, Jesus did not just give them a simple answer. He showed them the answer. Jesus healed sick people, helped blind people see, and brought good news to the poor. This was part of the promise. Then he told the messengers to go back and tell John what they had seen.

After the messengers left, Jesus spoke to the crowd about John. Jesus reminded them that John was a prophet sent by God. He said that John was very great, but even the smallest person in God’s kingdom would be greater. Some people had listened to John and obeyed God. Others, like the Pharisees, did not listen or believe.

Jesus finished by saying that many people find reasons not to believe. They did not like John because he fasted. They did not like Jesus because he ate and spent time with outcasts. But God’s wisdom is always true, and those who accept it will see that.

This passage shows us that it is okay to have questions. Jesus is patient and kind when we do. It also teaches us that we must listen to the truth, even if it is not what we expect. God wants us to trust him with open hearts.

Read The Passage

The Messengers from John the Baptist
18 When John’s disciples told him about all these things, he called two of them
19 and sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?”
20 When they came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to ask if you are the one he said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?”
21 At that very time Jesus healed many people from their sicknesses, diseases, and evil spirits, and gave sight to many blind people.
22 He answered John’s messengers, “Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean, the deaf can hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor.
23 How happy are those who have no doubts about me!”
24 After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak about him to the crowds: “When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind?
25 What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that and live in luxury are found in palaces!
26 Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet. 27 For John is the one of whom the scripture says: ‘God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’
28 I tell you,” Jesus added, “John is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than John.”
29 All the people heard him; they and especially the tax collectors were the ones who had obeyed God’s righteous demands and had been baptized by John.
30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves and refused to be baptized by John.
31 Jesus continued, “Now to what can I compare the people of this day? What are they like?
32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn’t dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn’t cry!’
33 John the Baptist came, and he fasted and drank no wine, and you said, ‘He has a demon in him!’
34 The Son of Man came, and he ate and drank, and you said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’
35 God’s wisdom, however, is shown to be true by all who accept it.”

Luke 7:18-35 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 7:18-35 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 7:18-35 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 7:18-35 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 7:18-35 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 7:18-35 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. What did John the Baptist ask Jesus through his messengers?
2. What was Jesus doing when the messengers came to him?
3. How did Jesus answer the messengers’ question?
4. What kinds of people did Jesus help during that time?
5. What did Jesus say about John the Baptist after the messengers left?
6. Why did Jesus say John was more than just a prophet?
7. Who listened to John and obeyed God’s commands?
8. Who did not accept John’s message or baptism?
9. What did Jesus compare the people of that day to?
10. Why did some people not believe in either John or Jesus?

Application Questions

1. Have you ever had questions about God or Jesus? What helped you learn more?
2. Why do you think Jesus helped people instead of just giving an answer?
3. What does this story tell us about who Jesus is?
4. How can we be open to hearing God’s truth, even when it is hard?
5. What kind of people does Jesus welcome and care for?

Theological Insights

1. Jesus is the promised one sent by God.
2. Jesus helps people who are sick, sad, and hurting.
3. It is okay to ask honest questions about faith.
4. God shows his wisdom in the way Jesus lived and loved others.
5. Some people reject God’s truth, but those who accept it find joy and life.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for showing us that Jesus is the one you promised. Help us to listen to your truth and trust you, even when we have questions. Teach us to believe in your wisdom. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.